moonstone

(redirected from Moonstones)
Also found in: Thesaurus, Encyclopedia.

moon·stone

(mo͞on′stōn′)

A variety of feldspar valued as a gem for its pearly translucence.

moonstone

(ˈmuːnˌstəʊn)

1. (Minerals) a gem variety of orthoclase or albite that is white and translucent with bluish reflections

2. (Jewellery) a gem variety of orthoclase or albite that is white and translucent with bluish reflections

moon•stone

(ˈmunˌstoʊn)

n.

1. a semitransparent or translucent, opalescent, pearly blue variety of adularia, used as a gem.

2. any opalescent feldspar, as certain varieties of albite, labradorite, or oligoclase, used as gems.

[1625–35]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun

moonstone - a transparent or translucent gemstone with a pearly luster; some specimens are orthoclase feldspar and others are plagioclase feldspar

feldspar, felspar - any of a group of hard crystalline minerals that consist of aluminum silicates of potassium or sodium or calcium or barium

transparent gem - a gemstone having the property of transmitting light without serious diffusion

Translations

Mondstein

pietra di luna

moonstone

[ˈmuːnstəʊn] N → feldespato m, labradorita f

moonstone

[ˈmuːnˌstəʊn] n → lunaria, pietra della luna

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

Partly from its peculiar colour, partly from a superstition which represented it as feeling the influence of the deity whom it adorned, and growing and lessening in lustre with the waxing and waning of the moon, it first gained the name by which it continues to be known in India to this day--the name of THE MOONSTONE. A similar superstition was once prevalent, as I have heard, in ancient Greece and Rome; not applying, however (as in India), to a diamond devoted to the service of a god, but to a semi-transparent stone of the inferior order of gems, supposed to be affected by the lunar influences--the moon, in this latter case also, giving the name by which the stone is still known to collectors in our own time.

The deity commanded that the Moonstone should be watched, from that time forth, by three priests in turn, night and day, to the end of the generations of men.

One age followed another--and still, generation after generation, the successors of the three Brahmins watched their priceless Moonstone, night and day.